This chapter is coming out sooner than expected and later than I'd hoped.

It was as if she had blinked one too many times, and in one of those fractions of a second when her eyes were closed, someone had stolen color from the world.

The world that laid before Himejima Akeno was a mix of grey and dull, off-white…

Even that lovely crimson hair, flowing down the back of her best friend and King, had suffered the same fate.

It took another second for Akeno to realize that Rias wasn't moving, not even breathing, almost as if she was…

"Frozen?"

Curious voices grated out from beside her.

Akeno jumped a little at the sudden hiss, but wasn't able to go far as her head snapped to her right.

What stared back at her was a piece of weathered, featureless iron, twin empty, dark chasms where eyes should be.

No!

… Those eyes weren't supposed to be empty like that…

Not when they were looking at her!

The metallic figure tilted its head to one side, seemingly just as startled to hear itself speak.

The dark hair that framed it was the only hint that a person might lie beneath, as everything below the mask was wreathed in that same battered iron.

It didn't seem right to call it armor.

Something about it seemed too restrictive for that.

As if it was meant not to protect the body beneath, but keep it confined.

Unsettling as it was, none of that seemed all that important to Akeno, at the moment.

That Kiba and Xenovia, standing to the other side, had not only retained their color but were watching the armored figure warily with blades at the ready, was noticed, but pushed aside.

That Rias, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Sona and Tsubaki, as well as Irina on the far side of the room, were all stiff, colorless, and motionless, was also filed away for later consideration.

No, right now that didn't matter at all.

Not before the revelation that the iron thing before her was holding her hand.

As if to cut off her panic before it could begin, the multitude behind the mask hissed out two more words to freeze her in place.

"Kazami Yuuji."

"K-Kazami… Yuuji!? Yuuji where are you!?"

As if she could forget!

Where was he, where was-

Who was Yuuji?

"It's his hand you're holding."

"You say that is if it isn't yours."

A mild drawl drifted across the grey stillness of the room, and the attention of both was drawn to Azazel, full of color and curiosity.

Beside him, Sirzechs, along with Grayfia, and the other faction leaders present stood in observation, unaffected by the strange stillness.

The armored thing, the Unknown Soldier, she dimly recalled, shook its head once, before tapping an armored finger against its temple.

This was her first time really meeting it… now she understood why Rias always struggled to talk about it.

"The boy sleeps."

… It hurt her head to hear it speak.

It was like a dozen people hissing their words all at once, each with their own pitch, speed, and volume.

"Care to explain that, Soldier-kun?"

Serafall asked, with an innocent smile serious, unwavering eyes.

In spite of herself, Akeno had to try not to giggle as a tired sigh slipped out from the Soldier.

… The creaking that echoed out in accompaniment called to mind the popping joints of some tired old man.

"We manifested to keep him awake, but he is... more concerned for others than he is himself. That conflict of interests caused someone else to remain awake in his stead."

To emphasize the point, it lifted its left hand… the hand still wrapped around her own.

That... didn't bother her as much as it did a moment ago.

Despite that gnawing sense of loss, that struggle to recall any details of who Yuuji was…

Knowing he was so focused on protecting her made her feel all warm and safe.

Like a nursery rhyme sung to her as a child.

The words faded from memory, but dim, fond echoes of the melody drifting through her mind.

"Ah, how dependable of him."

Sirzechs' mysterious smile carried with it a faint sense of approval, putting those gathered at ease.

"Hmm, the Sacred Gear activating to protect the host. Just like Vali here."

Azazel jerked a thumb over his shoulder, where the White Dragon Emperor leaned smirking against the walls.

Unfurled behind him were a pair of metallic white wings with large feathers comprised of glowing blue light.

"Probably the irregularity of your Balance Breaker did it for the Gremory Knight there-"

Azazel gestured towards Kiba, who was holding the beautifully twisted form of Rakshasa Divine at his side.

"And your Holy Sword, I take it? How'd you even get that out?"

Xenovia, with Durandal leaning over her shoulder, shrugged.

"Had a strange feeling."

As if it explained everything.

"Now, I'm guessing…"

"Gasper!"

Someone exclaimed.

Every unfrozen eye in the room locked onto her, cluing Akeno into the fact that yes, she had been the one to speak.

"Go on, Akeno."

Sirzechs prompted.

"When Gasper-kun described the world he saw, under the effect by Forbidden Balor View, he would always describe it as 'colorless'."

She elaborated.

"But… he shouldn't be able to stop time in an area this large… he should be all the way back at the old school building!"

Akeno fretted, turning her head back towards the direction her junior should be in.

The discussion came to an abrupt halt as the building shook.

"Oh... it's a terrorist attack."

Gabriel's dispirited, yet still musical voice informed, frowning softly as she did.

Akeno could have sworn she heard the world mourning alongside the lovely Seraph.

"I would love to say this came as a total shock but…"

A bitter laugh from Azazel.

"Always someone who can't stand the idea of 'peace', huh?"

The leader of the Grigori's habitual smirk was absent, a tired, wistful smile taking its place instead.

Flashes of light from the windows as the building shook.

"Magicians, huh? Given their numbers, I guess the Khaos Brigade is on the move."

Just like that, Azazel's carefree curiosity had returned.

"You're the expert here, Azazel. Could someone have amplified young Gasper's powers in order to cause this?"

Sirzechs inquired.

"Wouldn't be all that hard. There's plenty of ways to force a temporary Balance Breaker if you're willing to put in the effort. Kid must have a hell of a lot of latent potential to be lock down this big of an area, though."

The scent of ozone filled the air, and the Soldier's (still) held hand creaked ominously under Akeno's white knuckled grip.

"Ara ara, they're using Gasper-kun as a weapon? That's some nerve."

Now she too was smiling, and it was anything but friendly.

"There is little danger to those here, with the barrier created by the five of us, but… we cannot leave without exposing the young ones here, and dropping the barrier around the field could cause untold collateral damage… but they are killing our people outside."

Sirzechs stared grimly out the window as he spoke.

"Yep, and if they can juice up the Dhampir anymore we might end up just as helpless."

Azazel informed carelessly.

"Then we need to get to Gasper-kun…"

Akeno bit her thumb, frowning as she tried to think of a way to get through to them.

The magical assault on the barrier was so thick she could hardly see out the window… if she, Kiva, Xenovia, or the… Soldier, went out there, they'd be ash before they could even get both feet out the door.

The Soldier squatted down then with a low creak, and began tapping one finger on the floor… in the shadow it was casting.

Everyone stopped for a moment, puzzled by the odd sight.

Despite the ghastly countenance of the Unknown Soldier, the fact that it was still holding hands with Akeno gave its actions a surreal, almost childish appearance.

Seconds later, the purpose behind its odd actions revealed itself, as the shadow rippled like water, and a shaggy, black furred muzzle emerged with a yawn.

"Ruth!"

Akeno gasped.

{"Hmm… done already? That was fast-"}

Blood-red eyes fell upon the Soldier and narrowed.

{"Oi… you're not him… why the hell are you in control?"}

The Soldier lifted one hand in a placating gesture.

"Easy now, Grim… we made a mistake in trying to protect our host… and kept the Queen awake instead."

{"... Alright then… behave, and we won't have a problem… for now."}

"We shall limit ourselves to obeying the Queen's orders… this is a bit uncomfortable for us, as well, we must confess."

"Hoho… so the Church Grim avoided Balor's Eye, even in his sleep, by being 'out of reach', I take it?"

Azazel's keen-eyed gaze stared down at Ruth, as the Soldier rose to its feet, the dog removed himself fully from its shadow.

{"Something like that. Gasper must be a bit too young to- hang on, what did you just say about Gasper?"}

"Then… can you reach him, Ruth!?"

Akeno blurted out, hope and desperation warring on her lovely visage as she leaned forward, unwittingly releasing the Soldier's hand at last.

Missing how the Soldier stared quizzically down at its now empty hand, flexing it open and shut in a faintly forlorn manner.

{"So they do have Gasper?}

A low snarl drifted out with Ruth's dry mental voice.

{"Dammit… yeah, I can get to him… and before you ask, yes, I can bring you with, and no, I can't handle all of you. Two at best, otherwise I risk misplacing someone in the shadows… probably forever."}

Akeno straightened up immediately, long ponytail whipping as she whirled towards the watching Sirzechs.

"Lucifer-sama."

Grayfia was the first one to speak up, however, and Akeno felt her heart soar, knowing what the woman she looked up to would say even before another word was spoken.

She was grinning when Lucifer nodded towards his Queen immediately.

"Yes, I'll have you head out there, Grayfia. Akeno?"

"Yes, Lucifer-sama?"

"Since Rias is out of action, command of the peerage naturally falls to you as her Queen. Grayfia will draw the attention of those outside, and I'll have you lead a rescue for young Gasper."

Lucifer ordered.

"Decide who is going, and the other two will support Grayfia, as much as they can without drawing too much attention upon themselves."

"As you wish, Lucifer-sama…"

Akeno turned to her comrades, tapping a finger against her chin, more out of reluctance than indecision.

There was only one choice she could make, after all.

"... Yuuto-kun, Xenovia-chan, I'll ask you to support Grayfia-san. Xenovia-chan will focus on larger clusters with Durandal, Yuuto-kun, I want you to take the lead, and focus on picking off any particularly troublesome intruders."

"Roger."

"Understood."

"You know the grounds better than they do. Be careful, and try your best to stay out of the open."

They nodded once as Akeno put her hands on their shoulders, giving them a small squeeze to convey her worries.

"Yeah, we'll be careful, Akeno-san. You be careful too, alright?"

Kiba responded, reaching up to give her hand a small squeeze in return.

Satisfied, Akeno broke away, turning her gaze upon the armored figure standing patiently at the ready.

"You said... Yuuji-kun isn't in there, right now… but can I count on you to act in his place?"

A firm, creaking nod.

"If we must act in his stead, we will protect that which he wishes to protect. We are yours to command, Queen of Gremory… after all, we are quite fond of the Dhampir child as well."

"Thank you."

Next, she turned her head down to Ruth.

"Ruth, will you help us?"

{"Of course."}

She turned back to the waiting Sirzechs with a polite bow.

"We are prepared, Lucifer-sama."

"Excellent. Grayfia?"

Grayfia gripped the hem of her dress and curtseyed, before approaching the window with calm, measured steps.

Nothing more than a minute frown upon red lips, and cold, crimson eyes evoking images of bloodstained ice.

Ara, Grayfia-chan was angry, wasn't she?

… Akeno was feeling kind of turned on right now.

With a jerk of the head from Azazel, the Hakuryuuko pushed himself from the wall, handsome features contorted by an eager, bestial grin.

Before Grayfia or Vali could reach the window, it, along with every other window on campus, shattered violently.

Kuoh Academy trembled to its very roots, and Akeno, along with everyone else in the room, covered their ears as a garbled, inhuman scream tore through the air.

PAIN.

RESENTMENT.

FEAR.

HATE!

… Blinking rapidly, dazed, Akeno swept her gaze over her friends in shock, finding them unharmed, but just as dazed and bewildered.

Another scream echoed, not quite as deafening but just as hideous and saddening to hear.

A sorrowful sigh slipped from the lips of Heaven's only surviving Female Archangel.

"How sad… I'd hoped we'd put the last of those poor dears to rest."

Gabriel whispered, a hand on her heart.

"That hope has failed us before, dear Sister."

Michael responded mournfully.

"W-what the hell was that!?"

Kiba hissed, eyes wild and grip on Rakshas Divine crushingly tight.

"That, Kiba-chan… was Grendel."

Serafall's usual cheer was a distant memory.

"You spoke like there was more than one, before. Why the change?"

Xenovia's impassive tone stood in stock contrast to her pale features and wide eyes.

"We used to think there was, back when Beowulf killed the first, about a millennium and a half ago. Six more, virtually identical and calling themselves the same name have been killed since then, and they never seem to remember anything that happened to their predecessor. So we're not entirely sure if it's a single, reincarnating abomination, or if it's something more akin to a natural disaster."

Azazel explained.

"So 'Grendel' serves as both the name for the species, and the name of the individual, regardless of which is true."

Michael took over.

"What we do know is that the life of Grendel is constant agony, misery hanging off them like a black cloud. Whether it be a night of feasting or a historic peace conference, he seemingly sniffs out sufficiently large sources of positive emotion, and does his absolute best to snuff them out."

As if to punctuate his point, half an Angel splattered against the barrier covering the window, blood and offal wicking away like water as the corpse slid out of sight.

"Oi, Lucifuge."

Vali, grinning wildly.

Grayfia merely turned with one perfect silver brow arched.

"That one's mine. Play with the small fry."

"... As you wish."

"[Balance Breaker]... Divine Dividing: Scale Mail!"

In a brilliant flash, the White Dragon summoned his armor, engulfed himself in savage, snow white plate, splintering the wooden floor as he hurled himself out the open window in a single fluid pounce.

Seconds later, all Hell broke loose as the White Dragon Emperor began his rampage, carving his way towards Grendel and-

"SERAAAFAAAAAALLLL!"

"What now?"

Kiba's oddly resigned voice slipped out.

Expression as demure and impassive as ever, Grayfia loudly cracked her knuckles.

Everyone took a step back.

"That, Kiba, sounded like Katerea Leviathan."

Sirzechs offered carefully, a single wary eye trained on his Queen.

"Lucifer-sama."

Everyone took another step back as Grayfia's prim, polite voice echoed out with a stifling air of oppression.

"... Yes?"

"I'll ask to be excused from the conference, for now. Something urgent has been brought to my attention."

"... Well, don't let me keep you?"

"Thank you, Sirzechs-sama. Pardon me, then."

Without another word, Grayfia crossed the room towards the window, daintily hopping up onto the window sill with a tinkle of shattered glass, hands folded elegantly at the front of her dress.

"Oh, Grayfia?"

Sirzechs, with great reluctance, called out to her.

Grayfia turned and politely smiled.

Everyone held their breath.

"Yes, Lucifer-sama?"

"Ah… never mind, it's not important right now. Later."

"... As you wish, Lucifer-sama. I shall take my leave, then."

Without another word, Grayfia spread her wings and went airborne, vanishing from sight.

Azazel dropped a comforting hand on Sirzechs shoulder.

"Yeah, probably for the best you didn't ask her to talk things out with Katerea… there are children present."

Sparing not a single glance to the carnage brought by a battle-hungry dragon hurling itself at a twisted giant from grim mythology, Grayfia Lucifuge ascended smoothly into the air.

Thinking her distracted, several of the robed figures swarming about opened fire with arcane flames and bolts.

A dismissive wave of her hand, and the assault fizzled and died upon a wave of shimmering frost.

Her assailants fell seconds later, frozen, twisted statues with a roughly human shape shattering wetly upon the hard earth below.

Unconcerned by the casual act of carnage, Grayfia offered an elegant, midair curtsy.

"How do you do, Miss Katerea? Though I must beg your pardon for my presumptuousness… I must say, it is quite saddening to see you have yet to find yourself any reliable comrades."

The only thing marring the beauty of the woman she rose to meet was a livid sneer twisting her tanned features.

Red-rimmed glasses, light brown hair tied into a high bun, tan skin wrapped a dress cut so low it exposed her navel, and slit at the leg so high as to bare the entirety of her wide hips.

Katerea Leviathan, one of the few living descendants of that illustrious name.

"Don't speak to me of reliable, you traitorous whore!"

Katerea spat in contempt.

Grayfia shook her head slowly, a vague disappointment tinging her otherwise impassive veneer.

"Ara, such a shame, that a lady feels the need to run her mouth like a common street tramp… Leviathan must be coiling circles in her grave."

A cold and cruel smile tugged at the edges of her red lips.

"Perhaps you'd like to verify in person? I shall happily lend my services as an escort… you cheap, worthless relic."

Far below and completely unable to see her expression, nor hear Grayfia's voice, the current Lucifer and Leviathan felt a shiver up their spines.

Katerea ground her teeth in rage, before an abrupt change of demeanor swept a vicious smirk across her face.

"Mock all you want, slave. We'll see how talkative you're feeling when I've torn that-"

A pair of wine-red eyes, suddenly inches from her own, were the last thing Katerea saw before a dainty, pale fist caught her squarely between the eyes.

As if she was just as surprised as her opponent, Grayfia watched Katerea tumble through the air with one delicate hand covering her mouth.

… The same hand that had just smashed into the heir of Leviathan, if the traces of blood on her knuckles were anything to go by.

"Oh dear… it seemed as if a monologue was about to begin, and my body moved on its own. Ah… I hope Lucifer-sama didn't see that."

Lucifer-sama had in fact seen that… as had everyone else in the room with him.

It should come as no surprise that later, not a soul would be willing to comment.

"You bitch! You damn gorilla, pretending to be a maid!"

Grayfia carried on as if she hadn't heard.

"I hope that leg of yours isn't acting up. The replacement of yours is very convincing, but rumor has it that it always acts up when the weather is cold."

Almost in spite of itself, one gloved hand darted down to an unmarred, tanned leg, as a flicker of fear passed across the heiresses lovely visage.

Then it was replaced by rage and spite once more.

"Shutupshutupshutup-"

"Oh yes, I forgot to ask. Would you like to surrender?"

Grayfia calmly interjected.

"Surrender!? Surrender!?"

Katerea shrieked in fury.

"As if! Don't screw with me, you treacherous little whore! Hell doesn't need you! We should have fought, we could have won if it weren't for faithless swine like you, turning on your masters! The Lucifuge name used to mean something, before you dragged it through the dirt!"

"What meaning does something as lowly as a name have for a dying race? Lineage? Glory? Worthless. Had you warmongers of the Old Satan Faction had your way, the only things left to stroke those bloated egos of yours would have been corpses."

Grayfia spat, eyes narrowed.

"You're wrong! We were strong enough, we have always been the strongest faction! If it weren't for you cowards-"

"Shut your mouth. I don't care what your plans are, I don't care what your goals are. Katerea Leviathan, for standing against the will of Hell, I consign you to death."

Grayfia intoned, expressionless for one brief moment, before a suspiciously sunny smile bloomed across her face.

"Though, I hardly needed the extra motivation."

… There was bad magic in the air.

Malice and hate, coming from the direction of…

Asia!?

The connection was so faint!

Nononono!

She shouldn't have agreed to stay behind!

What did the house matter when Asia wasn't here!?

Hang on Asia, I'm coming!

"... That's as good a distraction as we're going to get."

Sirzechs stated, as howling waves of frost warred against hissing, oily black flames in the sky above.

A twisted, gigantic form collapsed through the gymnasium as a white comet struck it across the face.

"Akeno, get going. Kiba, Xenovia… I'll ask you again to deal with those magicians, but stay away from Katerea and Grendel. Bright as your futures may be, I'm afraid you will be of little assistance there. Especially with Grendel. No blade, no matter how sharp, will aid you against him."

"No blade? What do you mean?"

Xenovia couldn't help but ask, even as she advanced towards the open window.

"Ah, it's what makes Grendel such a pain to deal with. They're basically immune to any sort of weapon or magic… nothing that isn't attached to the body seems to faze them. It's why Beowulf wrestled his, and the fangs and claws of Dragons accounted for at least half."

Azazel explained with a grimace.

"Isn't the Scale Mail a problem then?"

Kiba had to ask.

"Nah, armor type Sacred Gears like that are the best kind of loophole. Albion isn't exactly dead, so it's kind of like he's doing the punching."

Xenovia interjected then, turning with confusion written across her features.

"But hang on… it sounded almost like the Seraphs have dealt with them personally before, and I don't think they'd really…"

Gabriel averted her gaze with a blush.

It reminded her of the ocean.

She'd never swam that deeply, herself, but Akeno imagined this was what the depths of the oceans looked like, far beyond the reach of a distant sun.

Though, when she imagined herself traversing the deep, she had never imagined her lifeline would be a pitchblack wolfhound, whose burning crimson eyes served as the only pinprick of light.

Or that the other person holding onto said hound would be her boyfriend, only he wasn't exactly with her, as his body was currently being puppeted around by the spirits of the dead and a suit of battered iron that made her brain hurt.

… Today had been a strange day.

Occasionally, the darkness would be broken up by jagged panels, blurred surfaces like shards of smoky glass.

Through them she could see murky images, images that Ruth would ignore after little more than a passing glance.

She wanted to speak, but she was hesitant to open her mouth.

She wasn't having trouble breathing, but the feeling of being submerged was difficult to rid herself of.

Until a frustrated snarl slipped from the hounds jaws.

{"Damn, they really were prepared for this, weren't they?"}

He was staring at a glass portal, through which she could see a familiar, yellow-taped door.

Layered with countless swirling lights and symbols that, even if she could have seen clearly, would have taken her hours to decipher, let alone penetrate.

"W-what is this?"

Akeno breathed out, hesitance to speak vanishing before her confusion.

Her voice sounded muffled, distant as if she was muttering from the other side of some great chasm.

{"They've isolated the space. Gasper's room is its own little world right now, so I won't be able to move through its shadows unless I'm in the room. This is useless, this is-"}

Akeno and the Soldier averted their gazes with sharp hisses as blinding white leaked into the world of gloom.

The darkness below and to the right was slowly growing hairline fractures.

{"Yeah, this is gonna be good."}

The shadows muffled not only the shape of his body, but even the mental communications of the Black Grim.

It made his chuckles, and bared fangs, all the more sinister.

This wasn't the right barrier!

Mages!?

Why were there mages!?

Asia, where are you!

No good… all this thinking was making her hungry.

"H-hey, did you hear that?"

"Hear what? We're in the bushes, it was probably just the sound of the wind."

"B-but it sounded kind of… wet?"

…

Ah... that really hit the spot.

Hard to strategize on an empty stomach.

Hmm, now what to do, what to do?

She could probably break through if she took the time to find a few more stray morsels, but…

No, that wouldn't do.

Who knows how long that would take?

Sweet Asia could be in danger.

No, she would have to do that.

Barriers were always surface level… always covering the skies, but never beneath the earth.

After all, what self-respecting Devil or Angel, Fallen or otherwise, would lower themselves to crawl through the sewers?

It's not like she wanted to either, but a little muck was worth it if she could get to Asia!

It was still gross though!

No one else had to taste every tunnel they slid through!

No, focus, focus.

In we go…

Eh?

What's this?

Everything above ground felt so still and dead, and there was a separate barrier where…

That's it!

Those bitches had little Gasper hostage!

The space was cut off, otherwise Ruth would have probably saved him by now!

Oh, you worthless, rotting whores.

Don't think you can keep me out.

I'm coming for you.

I hope you enjoy every second of your body melting within me.

I can already taste your magic, you trash.

You are far from the first mages to find their ends within me.

You won't be the last.

"The fissure grows? What is this?"

{"You'll find out soon enough, but no need to worry. If that light means what I think it means, it means that the isolated space is crumbling… and Gasper is probably safe by now."}

"What do you mean!? What's happening!?"

Akeno shouted out in frustration, unable to keep her worries contained.

The darkness offered little sense of time, but every imagined second stretched on into eternity.

{"Suu is happening."}

Akeno blinked in shock.

"... Suu?"

{"... Brace yourselves."}

With the muted sounds of glass shattering, the fissure widened, and Ruth pulled them into the light.

A roaring gale passed his right flank, as a gnarled, massive limb sailed past in an earth shattering haymaker.

Vali flipped gracefully in midair, raking a clawed, armored boot across the tendons of the inner arm.

Grendel howled and sobbed.

"Tch, too shallow. Well, at least I'm having a little fun, even if it feels a bit like bullying. All size and no skill makes you a gigantic punching bag."

Grendel had apparently figured out that swinging those colossal limbs wasn't working, because when it stepped forward, what instead came rushing for the hovering Dragon was a maw of cracked, mismatched fangs.

Catching the Dragon completely off-guard, as its snowy white form disappeared entirely into the depths of Grendel's jaws.

Muffled crunching echoed through the air as Grendel chewed.

It took a moment for Grendel to realize that a fresh bout of agony was accompanying its impromptu snack, and that the coppery taste in its mouth was oh so familiar.

Then it finally dawned on it that the odd noise making its jaw vibrate was not the sound of armor crunching and flesh squelching.

When it at last identified the muffled sound as laughter, it was far, far too late.

… This was strange, he thought.

Sure, there were a lot of them, but that was it, Kiba thought, as he slipped under a point-blank bolt of magic and opened the woman from hip to shoulder with one slash.

There were just a lot of them, though.

Nothing special, he'd hacked through about a dozen terrorists, and had only a singed sleeve to show for it.

Maybe they'd been over-reliant on Gasper's power, for this assault to work?

Or maybe they hadn't planned for both of their trump cards, in the form of Katerea and Grendel, to have opponents ready to not only meet them, but steadily drive them back?

… Shouldn't this be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the enemies of peace?

Fighting down the rush of vertigo with sheer force of will, Akeno emerged from the darkness and into a claustrophobic warzone.

No, not a warzone.

A killing field.

Hot blood splattered across her face, and a pale, twitching hand flew past her head as a writhing maelstrom of gooey black blades hacked a screaming figure into tiny chunks.

At the other end of the seething mass was a womanly, translucent figure.

Gleaming hot pink eyes whirled on her, narrowed in hate, before widening and softening, accompanied by a softly glowing smile.

"Ruth? Akeno?"

"... S-Suu?"

{"Someone's been busy."}

Suu, tall, curvy, and black as pitch, stood tall before an upturned cross of black steel, shielding its contents from harm.

Bolted to it was a pale, slender form in a Kuoh Academy girl's uniform.

"Gasper!"

Akeno cried out, ducking as a bolt of magic seared the space where her head had been, retaliating with a crack of lightning.

A spray of bullets followed her attack, forcing the mages in the halls to throw out hasty arcane shields, as the Soldier smoothly advancing with an assault rifle shouldered.

Shadows rippled like water as Ruth prowled back into the darkness.

Out of the immediate line of fire, Akeno turned her attention back to Gasper's room.

The mages within were all very much dead, Suu standing in a twisted mess of melted, intertwined limbs that Akeno was pretty sure might have been two or three people at some point.

A still dripping hole, peeking out from beneath Gasper's coffin hinted at how the Slime had entered the room.

She knew that Suu's race apparently fed on magic, but this was…

Not important, not right now.

"Good work, Suu-chan… if we cover you, can you get Gasper-kun down from there?"

Bright pink eyes blinked in surprise, the face they belonged to far more mature than Akeno recalled.

"… Yes… it will take only a moment."

Akeno stepped in front of Suu and Gasper, a golden Gremory circle forming a barrier to ward off any stray fire.

"Do that then, please."

"Y-yes."

Suu turned towards the unconscious Dhampir, giving Akeno a long, lingering glance as she did.

"... If something's bothering you, you can tell me. Just maybe don't take too too long, hmm?"

Akeno's jovial tone was soured somewhat by the screams, gunfire and snarling that partially drowned it out.

Suu let out a small sigh that made her entire body ripple, even as she sprouted extra arms to simultaneously free Gasper, and keep the awkwardly hung boy from tumbling.

"... I-if it's not too much to ask… c-could you keep some of the… details from… Asia? I-I know it's dishonest but… I don't want to scare her."

Suu pleaded in a low voice that Akeno decided didn't suit her all that much.

"Ara, if anything I hope they had enough time to enjoy the consequences of laying a hand on our sweet little Gasper… but don't you worry your cute little head, Suu. We'll keep all the fun little details between us, 'kay?"

As she spoke, she threw a wink over her shoulder.

Suu relaxed with a tiny smile, and Akeno decided that she liked that expression much, much more.

Seconds later, Gasper was free of his bonds (such clunky leather… no accounting for taste, it seemed), cradled gently in Suu's ebon arms.

An odd, chilly ripple passed through the air as Gasper was removed from the cross, Akeno blinking rapidly as color bled back into the surroundings.

A tiny yawn followed, moments later.

Gasper's eyes fluttered open.

"S-Suu-chan…? You're… comfier than I remember…"

Akeno's giggle snapped him fully awake.

"A-Akeno-onee-sama!? W-what-"

Gasper's panicked explanation and nervous gaze ceased without warning.

Akeno opened her mouth, to reassure him, to fret over him, she wasn't entirely sure, because the words had died in her throat.

"S-still n-n-nothing b-but trouble for everyone… huh?"

Staring down at the floor, Gasper's confused, bleary expression had given way to a tired, cynical smile.

The direction of his eyes shifted suddenly as both Akeno's hands gently grabbed him by the cheeks, forcing eye contact.

"You're wrong."

Gasper winced.

"Gasper-kun, there's no getting around it. The world we live in is sick. Gaper-kun is a kind, gentle boy who should be loved by everyone he meets, and yet the world is filled with scum like that-"

-A contemptous flick of the head, directed towards melted bodies-

"Who would take advantage of you, who are afraid of you, just because of how talented you are. I was there too, when Rias found you, remember?"

Gasper averted his eyes.

Tried to anyways, because Akeno had no intention of letting him go.

In more ways than one.

"There's no easy answer here, Gasper-kun. Maybe this sort of thing will keep happening, maybe we'll run into even more people who see you as just a tool. Maybe they'll pick Yuuto-kun next, with his Holy-Demonic Swords. Maybe they'll try to claim Asia-chan as a Holy Maiden once more. Hehe, maybe it will be me, the daughter of a human and a Fallen Cadre."

Suu's eyes narrowed at Asia's mention, but that last one left her watching the Gremory Queen in a contemplative silence.

With each example, Gasper's expression fell a little more, tears pricking the corners of his big pink eyes.

"So I guess the only thing I can really say is… so what?"

Whatever the little Dhampir had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that.

His mouth fell open as he gaped at her in utter shock.

"S-so w-what!? W-w-w-w-what do you mean, so what!?"

Unable to help herself, Akeno giggled.

Gasper was adorable when he was worked up with that.

"Ara ara, didn't you know? We're all a little family of misfits, Gasper-kun. Even Buchou fits right in, Gremory's might be respected but all the Pillar Families think they're a little weird, don't they? But, we all have another thing in common that I think you're forgetting."

Akeno's smile turned a bit wicked as her hands dropped from his face and opened wide.

Grinning, Suu tossed Gasper into the waiting beauties arms, and a hug that was just a little tight.

"When we find someone we love… we don't let them go."

Time stumbled as Gasper let out a little squeak, but frozen or not, Akeno's grip wasn't something the tiny boy could escape.

Akeno's voice softened, one hand finding its way up to run tenderly through his blonde hair.

"So don't worry about troubling us, Gasper-kun. No, actually, go ahead and trouble us lots and lots. We'll scold you lots and lots, and then we'll comfort you lots and lots, because no matter what happens, you're family."

Akeno's gentle smile pushed him over the edge, and, in the halting manner that heralded Balor going once more out of control, Gasper pushed his head against the older girl's chest and cried.

Patiently, the beautiful young woman held him close, smiling indulgently as-

A large section of the wall vanished in wisps of ash and tendrils of crimson, exposing them to the outside air and-

"GASPER! WHERE ARE YOU ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

"Oh yeah… I guess Buchou can move again."

Gasper looked up at Akeno, Akeno looked down at him, and Suu just stared.

As the panicked Rias soared through the gaping hole she had created, they both began to laugh.

Smiling, Akeno pushed Gasper to his feet so that he could close the distance to his master on his own.

"... I feel like I'm missing a few things here."

The ORC was missing most of a wall, there was a small war going on, the gun in his hands was smoking…

Come to think of it, there was a lot of smoke surrounding him, that dull and lifeless smoke from the Arsenal-

{"Oh good, you're back. When'd you wake up?"}

"Dramatic entrance."

Ruth chuckled.

"I more or less understand the situation, but we'll have to skip the explanations for now. We'll have plenty of time to chat after we burn the last of these vermin for laying a hand on my cute little Gasper."

Said cute little Gasper had Rias' arms draped possessively around him from behind.

The school grounds had been well and truly morphed into a warzone, once Balor's View had released its grip, the remaining security forces of the three factions tearing into the gathered mages and the beasts they'd summoned for reinforcements.

A twisted, pitiful giant with a broken jaw was currently crawling through the wreckage of the gymnasium in a futile attempt to escape its pursuer.

Drifting languidly in the air behind it was a comparatively tiny figure, clad in blood-smeared armor of white.

As Rias let her gaze drift up, she found the greatest scene of carnage was also the farthest from the ground.

Far above the heads of everyone present, a maelstrom of frost warred against a sea of oily black flames.

"... Grayfia?"

Sure were a lot of them, weren't there?

In a rare moment of contemplation, Xenovia thought it rather sad that peace had so many enemies.

Maybe she was just being selfish, she mused, as Durandal's roar claimed yet more victims.

After all, what she wanted the most from peace between the factions was the chance to maybe-

Hiding among the dead, a terrorist rose with knife raised high.

Whirling, already knowing she had moved too slowly to defend, Xenovia grit her teeth as-

A thin line of steel coiled around her attacker's neck, and severed it entirely with a neat flick.

"Geez… pay attention Xen-chan! I'm gonna get really worried if you zone out like that!"

Excalibur Mimic coiling about her like a snake, Irina slipped up beside the stunned Xenovia with a cheery wink.

"I-Irina! I…"

Irina silenced her with a finger over her friends lips.

"Nope! I've got a lot I want to say to you too, and I'm definitely gonna yell at you later for disappearing and scaring me like that, but first we have things to do!"

Xenovia blinked once, twice, and then relaxed.

Turning away with a bold smile on her face, Xenovia went back to back with her oldest friend.

"Yeah… let's get the nuisances out of the way."

"Teehee~!"

Kiba laughed as the cluster of mages he'd been up against vanished, blown away by a massive hunk of turf with white lines painted into it.

"Yuuto-senpai."

Koneko greeted.

"Oh, hello Koneko-chan. Come to join in on the fun?"

As his light-hearted response slipped out, a dark-robed spellcaster tripped and fell, likely unbalanced by the sword he'd thrown through her chest.

"Mm."

He'd been more or less surrounded, even with Koneko's entrance, but that changed as their attackers were driven back by a rain of gold and pink.

Kalawarner and Raynare fluttered down from the sky to join them.

"Are you alright, Kiba-san?"

"Yep, they're nothing special when their targets can move."

"Hehe, mind if we cut in?"

Raynare giggled.

"Be my guest."

Kiba offered, and then his smile and the light atmosphere vanished.

"It's good you're all safe, but…"

Kiba flared his white wings, seeking out Rias with his eyes.

"There's something strange about all this. Be careful."

"How!? How are you able to push me back!? I should be stronger than you, especially with the blessings of Ouroborus!"

Grayfia paused her assault, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Ophis? Come to think of it, it was a bit odd that you'd try to fight me with flames, instead of the Waters of Leviathan you're so proud of."

Katerea nearly fell out of the sky.

"W-what the hell is that!? Don't screw with me! I-"

"Ah, don't misunderstand. It's not as if I didn't notice, I just didn't care."

Grayfia continued, her reserved demeanor contrasting with her merciless rejoinder.

"You'd go that far to mock me!?"

Grayfia quirked her brow at that.

"Yes, I believe I would. More importantly, now that I know who you're allied with, I can extrapolate the rest, so please, go ahead and die."

"You bitch! You utter-"

The Leviathan gagged as a coin-sized droplet of cold water hit the back of her throat and trickled down it.

"That's quite enough out of you."

Grayfia had one hand outstretched in the direction of her foe, palm upwards.

Choking and coughing, the panicked heiress lifted one hand, desperately trying to gather her power and-

The outstretched hand clenched, and the ball of water blossomed into a mass of twisted, frozen thorns.

Following up with a snap of her fingers, Grayfia froze the corpse solid, leaving it to tumble from the sky without ceremony.

Coiled around a frozen heart, a black, serpentine form shattered.

The maid turned slowly in the air, already dismissing her opponent and applying cold air to her burns as her gaze shifted to the newcomer.

"Hmm, done with Grendel already, are you?"

Rias tilted her head to one side, allowing the bolt of magic to sail harmlessly past.

The Power of Destruction vaporized her attackers neck in a hissing arc, and she nearly flinched at how loud the sound of the severed head hitting the dirt was.

The battlefield had gone almost silent, there were no mages, summoned monsters or living giants in sight, and-

Rias twisted rapidly, shielding Gasper with her body as a silver comet crashed down from the sky, less than twenty feet away.

Coughing, she covered her mouth with one hand, still cradling Gasper protectively with the other.

Those gathered watched in silence for a moment as the dust cleared.

The first thing she saw was silver.

It took several seconds to recognize what she was seeing.

Prone and still within a slowly spreading pool of blood, the limp form of Grayfia Lucifuge could be seen, a gaping, circular hole where her left clavicle should have been.

From her left breast, bared to the open air, to the side of her neck, pale skin bathed in crimson… the maid wheezing raggedly, struggling to maintain consciousness.

"GRAYFIA!"

"No! Stay where you are!"

Grayfia shouted, even as the act brought a mist of crimson spraying from her bloody lips.

She and her peerage froze in place, aching to run to her, get into position to protect, to heal, to do something.

All except one.

Laced with quiet irritation, Yuuji's voice drifted into the stillness.

"Just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you… Vali?"

A low chuckle was the only response given.

High above the empty battlefield, the White Dragon hovered with a smirk on his face.

"Just like that, Vali? What shitty timing."

Azazel's smirk had never seemed so forced.

"As good a time as any."

"Strange, your new friends didn't seem surprised to see you giant-slaying."

"Probably because they were kept in the dark. I'm just observing for now."

"My maid would disagree."

Sirzechs chimed in mildly, eyes narrowed just a touch.

"Expressionless people are difficult. Kind of a shame, since that was meant to start the fight, not end it."

Vali shrugged, though some of those watching noticed he did seem just a little regretful.

"Guess Katerea was less third-rate than I had her pegged for if Lucifuge was that tired."

"So what did they offer you, Vali, that you would throw your lot in with terrorists? I somehow doubt you've taken an interest in the family legacy."

Azazel asked.

"Hmm? No, the last name of Lucifer still means nothing. I don't even care about interfering with the alliance."

An astonished silence fell over the ruined school grounds.

"...Lucifer? … So the missing descendant is you, isn't it?"

Serafall whispered, a hint of pity in her voice.

"That's right. I am Vali Lucifer, the latest in an unbroken line tracing back to one of the original Satans. My human mother is the reason I was allowed to wield the power of the Vanishing Dragon, though."

"So then what's your game?"

Azazel inquired, more curious than affronted.

"Asgard. The Khaos Brigade is picking a fight with other pantheons, and Asgard is up first. I admit, even I would have trouble finding the opportunity to battle against Odin or Thor on my own."

"... Can't say I'm surprised. Always knew someone as battle-hungry as you would go looking for bigger opportunities one day. Still stings a little, but I suppose it could be worse."

Vali chuckled at the carefree answer.

"Yeah… you didn't look all that shocked. This was still fun though, so don't go getting yourself killed until we have a chance to fight for real. After all, I'm-"

A distant, ponderous shriek.

"Completely, utterly worthless."

Iron grinding upon iron, edge upon edge.

A set of dark eyes, narrowed in malice.

Echoing from within the sickly smoke that coiled around his feet.

Directed skywards, Kazami Yuuji's impassive mask was replaced by a sneer of contempt.

"... And what, do you mean by that?"

Vali Lucifer's mild inquiry hung heavy in the air, unseen pressure crushing down on everything from above.

"There was no point to any of this. The only reason you're even here is for the chance to make a spectacle out of your weak little betrayal."

Yuuji responded flatly.

"Hehe… maybe it was a Dragon's pride at work."

Vali admitted after a moment of quiet contemplation.

Then, abruptly, his expression twisted, the grin of a shark in bloody waters.

"But don't pretend you're any different, Soldier. You're just like me. Violence is the only thing you'll ever be good for. You wouldn't be able to survive a peaceful world, either."

A short distance away from her Pawn, Rias glared her fury, teeth bared in hostility.

How dare he!

How dare he pretend he knew anything about-

Akeno, eyes wide and the blood drained from her face, was staring hard to one side.

Unheeded by all, Asia was hard at work sealing Grayfia's wounds.

That… wasn't where her Queen was looking.

Instead, her gaze was on-

Yuuji, and the glimmer of understanding in his black eyes.

As if once more in Balor's grip, Rias felt her heartbeat stumble as he gave a resigned little shrug.

In perfect harmony once more, both her and Akeno arrived at the same bitter revelation.

"You're... not wrong."

The man they loved… had never looked so lonely.

The savage, triumphant laughter of a Dragon dominated the stillness.

"You see!? You don't understand either! Ordinary, boring peace! Meaningless! You don't understand it, and you never will! Just like me!"

"... Yeah… you're probably right."

"... Y-Yuuji?"

Akeno reached out a weak, trembling hand.

Just a little farther and she could reach him.

She had worked so hard to traverse the distance, that space that Yuuji kept between himself and the world.

Yet here they were, mere paces between them and yet never had they seemed farther apart.

"I don't have the faintest idea what peace is supposed to be like. I mean, my one honest attempt at normalcy led me right here, so isn't something like peace a bit out of my strike zone?"

Somewhere nearby, a quiet sniffle drifted out.

"So then why are you here? Are you just a dog on a leash, barking when he's told? Dancing to the tune of your masters?"

"Maybe, but that doesn't sound like me. Directions are nice and all when you don't really trust yourself, but things like Satans and being a Devil don't really mean anything to me."

Rias flinched.

He had said it before, hadn't he?

'Being a Devil changes nothing.'

… She had accepted those words, then, and decided that if being a Devil didn't matter to Yuuji, then she'd do whatever it took to help him find something that did.

Not just because her was her servant, but because she loved him, as a woman loved a man.

Rias called to him, then, but...

Try as she might, the words refused to form.

In an almost callous gesture, an iron hand lifted into the air and pointed towards the Satans, unaware or uncaring of the sad, sympathetic gazes they returned.

"Family. To someone, they're family, and that's all that matters, in the end."

... No one quite could make sense of his words, but...

"And the way things are going, I might even end up part of one of those families... no, I doubt I have much choice there... meh."

... At some point the bitter, sardonic tone had drained from the young man's voice, leaving behind something airy and light.

"I don't understand peace, but family?"

Yuuji leaned forward and his voice took on a hushed tone, redundant since he didn't actually lower his voice.

"Well actually, between you and me, I don't really get that one either, just yet. I mean, while we're at it, I've even managed to fall in love, and get this, for some baffling, mildly terrifying reason, there's people right here who love me back."

Those staring at him in what had once been shock and hurt were smiling now, and here or there a stray tear was hastily wiped away.

Vali's smirk had shifted into a contemplative stare.

"So what if I don't understand peace? I'll just rely on someone who does, and if I have to, I'll go right through you to get that chance."

"That's more like it… come and fight Soldier… no, Kazami Yuuji!"

Several people, Vali included, nearly fell over in shock at Yuuji's immediate retort.

"Hell no."

When the Arsenal had come to life in order to protect its host, the conflicting desire of said host had resulted in Yuuji being sent into a deep sleep.

Not, however, without sending him into a dream as well.

While the spirits of the nameless dead fought in his place, Yuuji had aimlessly wandered the darkness of the Memoir.

Aimlessly, until unseen hands took his own and gently, insistently led him down unseen trails.

They'd led him to the base of a dead tree.

High above, twined around the highest branches of the corpse, were reaching tendrils of verdant green.

He watched as they penetrated the gloom, stretching all the way to a distant sun.

When they reached their destination, Kazami Yuuji had smiled at what he saw.

Now, though, he'd found something that no matter what, he refused to let go unpunished.

Empty, meaningless betrayal.

A rejection of the safe, happy world he'd fought for.

The simple, honest normalcy he was so afraid of, yet so desperate to reach.

So when Yuuji closed his eyes, those unseen hands led him back to that dead tree, and the thing he'd found there in its branches.

Once more, Kazami Yuuji smiled at what he saw… and began to climb.

Having lost a few feet of altitude, for a brief instant, Vali Lucifer was left staring in open mouthed shock.

"No? What do you mean no!?"

"Please. We both know I can't take you in a fight, so why bother?"

"... I have absolutely no idea where this conversation is going."

Who had actually spoken those words was irrelevant when everyone was thinking them.

"... Then, what the hell are you planning?"

Yuuji closed his eyes and let out a long, slow exhale as a featureless, dull grey rifle appeared in his hands.

"It's not all that complicated."

When those eyes opened, once dull orbs blazed a wild, verdant green, green that spider-webbed down his face, down his arms and across the barrel of his gun.

"I'm going to shoot you in the head."

The barrel of the gun, aimed high.

"And, if you're dead set on picking a fight with Asgard…"

Teeth bared to the heavens in the smile of a beast.

"Try not to die."

It began with the low, droning chant of a hundred voices.

"Death throes of eternity!"

From everywhere at once, accompanied by the distant groan and shriek of grinding iron.

"Pierced upon a lowly thorn!"

The world held its breath as the whispered chant converged on one point, and cowered when it turned into a roar.

"MISTILTEINN!"

That same savage grin on his face, Kazami Yuuji pulled the trigger.

How disappointing.

The attack was fast, he supposed, and he couldn't fault the accuracy.

Yet the streak of green concealing the dull missile was fast, and only that.

Truly disappointing.

If it was speed that one talked about, then such was the speed of the White Dragon Emperor that lifting two fingers to catch the unassuming projectile was an act that barely qualified as effort.

Such was the speed of the White Dragon Emperor, that the end result was nothing more than a shattered face-plate, and gouged open cheek…

When the unassuming projectile nearly tore those fingers off.

Falling from the heavens and splattering into the dirt, the silence was broken only by the sound of dripping blood.

Then that silence was shattered to pieces by the anguished screams of a wounded Dragon.

Stricken dumb, the leaders of the three factions watched the White Dragon Emperor howl and thrash in mid-dair, blood running through the clawed fingers of his gauntlets.

Failed.

Their instincts had failed them.

If there was one thing they had in common, it was an intuition for battle, forged in the fires of nightmarish conflicts that had threatened to engulf the entirety of their respective races.

Instinct bordering the realm of precognition, hardwired to perceive the slightest threat even before it was brought to bear.

Instincts that had told them that this… Mistelteinn was not a threat.

In terms of power, it was… negligible at best.

Insignificant.

Yet, in abject defiance of what should have been a simple truth, in the heavens above…

The blood of a mighty Dragon rained down slowly upon the earth.

"Ghhhk… what the hell was that!?"

Vali hissed through clenched teeth, clutching his still bleeding face.

Yuuji's answer was so incredibly, utterly typical that those who knew him struggled not to laugh, in spite of their bewilderment.

"A bullet?"

He suggested, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Oh, and I guess it was a warning too."

The casual remark ground everything to a halt.

"I don't really care what you do. We live in a world where the powerful can do whatever they damn well please, after all. But Vali, no matter how wide the gap between Heaven, Earth and Hell, no matter what heights you ascend to seeking a good fight, one truth remains."

Yuuji's eyes went cold, and his merciless declaration left even the White Dragon Emperor doubting his own courage, if only for a moment as sharp words cut through the pain.

"Vali Lucifer, there's no such thing as an immortal. Everyone dies in the end, and the day you forget those words... I'll carve them above your grave."

Shortly after, a somewhat flustered young man in Eastern-style armor had emerged out of a set of hovering torii, riding a cloud of all things, and whisked the still bleeding Vali away.

No one had made any move to stop him, least of all Yuuji, who had simply stood in place and watched, expression unreadable.

It wasn't until the gates had closed that insight was granted into the mysterious ways of Kazami Yuuji.

"... Not bad, Devil-kun. What exactly was that? I can kind of guess from the name, but…"

Azazel had wandered over along with Gabriel and Serafall, while Sirzechs and Michael had taken charge of the clean-up.

"Huh? I wasn't joking, old man. It was just a bullet."

Yuuji explained, without turning.

"A bullet made of wood."

Azazel pointed out, curious as to why that particular phrase seemed to offend the young man.

"Right, a bullet without casing, primer… never mind the fact that there's no way soft wood like that could withstand the amount of propellant necessary for an M24 round."

From the side, Akeno leaned forward in curiosity, looking up at Yuuji in contemplation.

"... Are you… sulking?"

"Shut up. I hate using weapons I can't understand."

Yuuji was, in fact, sulking.

"Ufufu~."

"Hehe, well, I can't say I'm any different, so…?"

Azazel prompted.

"Pay attention. I shot him in the head with a bullet. Any bullet that can't kill its target with a direct hit is a defective product."

"I find it hard to believe you could bring down the White Dragon Emperor with a simple bullet, unless… oh."

"Yep."

The two men went silent.

"... Once more, for the people in the back?"

Raynare asked hesitantly, after it became clear that the conversation was apparently over.

She took a step back in surprise as Azazel whirled in her direction with bright eyes.

"Haven't you heard the story of Baldr? That's where the name comes from! A god incapable of being harmed by any weapon, man, or god, brought down by Loki's trickery and a dart made of mistletoe!"

"That's what Yuuji-kun shot Vali with? Mistletoe?"

Kiba asked, somewhat skeptically.

"Exactly! A lowly thorn that would barely qualify as a weapon, slaying that which couldn't be slain!"

Azazel declared triumphantly.

"So what's the secret? A weapon that bypasses immortality?"

Akeno inquired.

"Baldr wasn't immortal though, was he? None of the Norse Gods were… I mean, are."

Kalawarner pointed out.

Azazel's eyes lit up as she spoke.

He was just about to present another theory when a blur of pink breezed past him.

"That was super cool, Yuuji-chan! Now you have a super secret special attack to go along with your robot fist! Well I guess it's not a secret, but the super cool part is still true!"

Serafall exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Yuuji by the hands and spinning him about.

No one was more surprised than her when her cheerful spinning nearly spilled the Pawn into the dirt, her grip on his hands the only thing keeping him from falling.

"AH! I broke Yuuji-chan! I'm sooorrrry!"

His head flopped towards the sky, Yuuji let out an irritated sigh.

"Just don't drop me."

Azazel chuckled as several people panicked at the odd sight.

"Yeah, I was gonna ask about that… talking is all you can handle right now, isn't it?"

Akeno and Rias, who had taken over and were lifting Yuuji upright, whipped their heads in the Cadre's direction, and then back to Yuuji.

"Yep. Can't move anything but my face. Kind of inconvenient."

"Yuuji! You should have said something! Are you hurt!? Where does it hurt!? Asia, get over here!"

Rias, perhaps predictably, was beginning to panic, and together with Akeno, reversed direction to lower him gently to the ground, keeping him propped up in a sitting position as the little Bishop bustled over.

"I'm not hurt. They just told me that one shot was all I can handle, and even that took everything in the tank… say, is anyone else feeling chilly? I'm freezing."

Now that they had him in their arms, Yuuji's shivering had become apparent.

That shivering seemed to ease, somewhat, as the warm emerald of Twilight Healing bathed over his form, but Yuuji remained just as limp as ever.

"So much death, wreathing one so young… allow me to banish that deathly chill."

Gabriel had begun to step forward, a soft glow surrounding her as she did, but Azazel halted the Seraph with an outstretched hand and a wink.

"Mighty kind of you, but he's not in any immediate danger, is he?"

Blue eyes the color of a warm summer sky blinked in confusion, but after a moment, the Seraph offered a hesitant nod.

"Azazel, this is no time for your games!"

Rias snapped.

Unfazed, Azazel knelt down beside the fuming heiress with a chuckle, and whispered something in her ear.

Whatever he suggested left the crimson-haired young woman blushing to her roots, but she was quick to lean across Yuuji to share with Akeno in a heated whisper.

Akeno's flushed cheeks were accompanied by a wicked smile.

In perfect harmony, the two beauties began to giggle.

The helpless Yuuji could only sigh.

"... I think I'm in danger."

"Well, before you get whisked away, mind finishing the story?"

Azazel asked, without a trace of sympathy.

"Huh? Oh, that. Kala kind of had the right idea. Mistelteinn isn't really anything fancy. But if it can die, Mistelteinn can kill it."

"Nothing fancy he says... wait, then what about Vali?"

"Hmm? No, that wasn't a direct hit, was it? So unless he bleeds out like a dumbass, he should be just fine… probably."

"So that's why it tore through the armor… this came up before, but Albion isn't really dead."

"Yeah, I don't get it."

Serafall admitted, though some of the more canny among those listening didn't quite believe it.

Azazel took the admittance for the prompt it was.

"Well, 'if you shoot someone in the head, they'll die' sounds like common sense, right?"

Enjoying the attentive audience, Azazel grinned.

"But the reality isn't that simple. The weapon used, and who it's used on are kind of important, right?"

Azazel pointed out, as the glimmers of understanding began to appear.

"After all, no one's going to expect some brats slingshot to work on an elephant, are they? If I'm right, Mistelteinn ignores those differences entirely. A kill shot is a kill shot, whether the target is an ant or a Dragon."

"... A weapon for the weak to wield against the strong."

Kalawarner intoned softly.

"Something like that. Now, hate to be a pain, but I'm feeling really, really cold and well, paralyzed, so if someone could at least drag me indoors, I would really appreciate it."

Yuuji interjected in a dry voice.

Akeno giggled once more, and twisted Yuuji's head, all the better to stuff it deeply into her chest.

Strictly speaking, the conference wasn't over, but the leaders had unanimously decided to let the young ones leave and rest.

Irina had been excused from her duty as a bodyguard (symbolic of the Church, more than anything, to begin with), and Xenovia had been excused by Rias once her peerage had been dismissed.

Not without a hug for reassurance, since the Gremory King had easily seen through to her Knights unease.

So here they were, sitting in silence, in the old church they'd stayed at on their last mission together.

At the foot of the altar, the only noise the sound of Irina's boot tapping idly against the stone floor.

Xenovia wasn't used to having trouble speaking, nor having the very air of a church make her skin crawl.

Then again, she wasn't used to being afraid of what someone might say to her, either, so suffice to say, she'd been better.

"Xen-chan."

"Y-yes?"

She hated how weak she sounded.

She wanted to turn so they were at least facing each other, but even that seemed too high a hurdle.

"I'm sorry."

What?

She must have misheard, what did Irina have to apologize for.

"I-I was really mad when they told me you'd gone rogue… I was so hurt and angry and I… couldn't help but think that somehow I'd let you down."

"No! T-that's-!"

Xenovia whirled on her in shock, only to find Irina hurtling towards her.

As the body slammed into her, Xenovia instinctively wrapped her arms around her, shielding Irina from the sudden bounce down the short stone steps.

"Irina!? What are you-"

Xenovia was struck silent, her voice completely cut off by the fists drumming against her chest.

"XEN-CHAN YOU DUMMY!"

The fists drumming against her chest… and the teardrops falling upon her shirt.

"YOU SCARED ME YOU DUMMY! YOU KNOW HOW SCARY IT WAS WHEN YOU VANISHED LIKE THAT!?"

"I-Irina… I…"

"NO! YOU DON'T GET TO TALK JUST LET ME YELL AT YOU FOR A BIT YOU DUMMY!"

Without meaning to, a chuckle slipped out… Irina hadn't changed at all, had she?

Irina froze atop her with a suspicious scowl, the puffed up cheeks and watery eyes reminding Xenovia of that kitten they'd taken care of together, years ago.

"Did you just laugh?"

"... No?"

"You definitely did."

Irina pouted at her.

"It was an accident."

Xenovia struggled to mask her smile, but she was never any good at things like that.

"... I'm still mad at you, you know."

Irina said, pressing her head against Xenovia's chest with a huff.

"I'm sorry."

Arms wormed their way under Xenovia shoulders and into a tight hug.

"You better be."

A moment later, the embrace was returned.

"... But… let me have this for a little while."

It might have been one, or both of them who said that.

It hardly mattered in the end.

"Ara ara, Yuuji-kun sure overdid it this time, didn't he?"

"You're right Akeno, he most certainly did… and you're sure it doesn't hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine, Rias. Well, I'm not in any pain, anyways."

Akeno had carried the immobile Yuuji through the summoning circle, up to his (their) room, and gently deposited him on the edge of the bed, after pulling off his shoes.

After checking on the rest of the peerage, including Gasper, who Rias had refused to leave behind, and thus was currently spending time with Koneko, Rias had joined them.

Now, the two lovely young women were looming over their helpless boyfriend, chatting pleasantly.

"Seems like a good chance though, doesn't it Akeno?"

"Indeed, and it's for his own good so it can't be helped, can it?"

"I was sure my Queen would see things the same way."

"Mhm, after all, when will we get another chance to one-sidedly spoil Yuuji-kun?"

The innocent conversation was marred, somewhat, by the flush of their cheeks, the excited glimmer of their eyes, and the rough, shallow nature of their breathing.

"... Don't say 'spoil' when you mean 'molest'."

Yuuji suggested in a resigned tone of voice, as the girls approached.

Not like he could escape anyways.

… Not like he wanted to, anyways.

Xenovia had moved them both into a sitting position, and Irina had perched herself across her lap as if it was the natural thing to do.

Irina wasn't quite willing to let go, yet, and Xenovia, though less for physical affection in general, was enjoying the proximity if nothing else.

"Michael told me the truth, you know."

Irina told her out of nowhere.

Xenovia went stiff.

"... The truth?"

"Oh please, you're no good at playing innocent. The truth. God's death, and why you and Asia-chan were really excommunicated."

"... I see… wait, what was that last part?"

"Yep, Michael felt super bad about that, which is why the Church was forbidden from pursuing either of you for any reason. Didn't you think it was weird that no one ever came after you?"

Irina explained candidly.

"I might know that you're amazing with or without it, but the Church thinks your Durandal is super important, so it would be weird if they let it slip out of their fingers so easily, right? And I mean, Asia-chan has Twilight Healing, which is basically the Sacred Gear of healing."

Xenovia tilted her head.

"I guess that is weird."

As if it had nothing to do with her.

"... You didn't think about it even once, did you?"

"No."

Irina's head fell upon Xenovia shoulder with a put-upon sigh.

"... Come to think of it, you make it sound like it was Michael's choice."

Irina's head shot up with wide eyes.

"Now you pick up on that!?"

Xenovia let out a thoughtful hum.

"That seems to be the case, yes."

"... Michael had to remove you, to protect the system God left behind. It's a lot more fragile without the Father, so for Michael to run it, he has to be super strict to avoid letting it deteriorate further."

Irina explained, a bit sadly.

"That doesn't mean he has to like it, though, so as long as neither of you took direct action against the faith, he forbid the Church from laying a hand on you! Basically you two are off limits! Heaven doesn't give a lot of direct decrees like that, so the higher-ups paid reaaallly close attention!"

Xenovia noticed that Irina seemed not only excited, but almost… reverent?

Oh, that made a lot of sense… she'd found someone to follow in place of God too, hadn't she?

"... So Michael was protecting us?"

"Yep! Coordinated with Lucifer and everything, which would super duper blasphemous if it wasn't Michael!"

… Was that how it worked?

"I see."

She didn't, at all, but Irina seemed happy so it was fine.

"Oh yeah that's right I forgot the thing I wanted to tell you!"

"... There's more?"

"Of course there's more! Silly Xen-chan!"

Irina giggled.

"After Michael finishes turning me into an Angel I'm gonna be stationed in Kuoh as a representative of Heaven! So… y-you know… it w-w-would probably make sense if I j-joined your class since we're the same age?"

"No, you acting shy now doesn't make sense… wait, hold on, I feel like you skipped over something important there."

Irina winked and stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth.

"I kind of want to put his clothes back on so we can do that again."

"Right? Undressing Yuuji is really exciting for some reason!"

"I'd be flattered if I wasn't so confused. Ready to fill me in yet?"

"No, that's a good point, Yuuji-kun might feel left out if he's the only one naked."

"You're right Akeno, that's no good at all."

"You two are considerate about strange things."

"Ara, does that mean Yuuji-kun doesn't want to watch us strip?"

"This and that are completely separate issues."

The response came in the form of short skirts, sliding down wide hips and smooth, shapely legs.

Following Akeno's unspoken signal, the girls decided to mix things up a little bit, and rather than strip down to their underwear first, removed everything from their lower bodies first.

The white hems of their school shirts were just long enough to preserve modesty… if they let them.

Whether they did or not hardly needs to be said.

"Ufufu, looks like one part of Yuuji-kun is moving just fine."

A grinning Akeno commented.

"I was actually a bit concerned about that."

Rias and Yuuji said that at exactly the same time, birthing a round of chuckles.

Once they were both fully nude, Akeno and Rias both… hesitated.

Yuuji kept his silence, understanding their issue but willing to let them solve it on their own.

… They had yet to do it with the three of them at once, after all.

"Akeno, I have an idea."

"You do? Go ahead, then."

"Excuse me."

With that, Rias crawled onto the bed beside Yuuji.

Gently, she propped him up into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

A sitting position he couldn't actually maintain, without support, which Rias solved with her own body.

Sliding in behind him, she molded her body against his, pressing her breasts up his back as she embraced him, her long legs gently laid against the outside of his own.

As her body slowly began to grind against his, Rias wrapped one hand around and tilted Yuuji's head around to face her, as the other began to caress the chiseled muscles of his chest.

"You've been working so hard, haven't you, my lovely servant? Sit still for now, and let us pamper you."

Rias crooned, looking deeply into Yuuji's eyes with a tender smile.

Only for a moment, before she closed the distance and laid loving claim to Yuuji's lips, delighting in leading the kiss as her tongue twined gently past Yuuji's to explore.

Without a hint of shame, Akeno took a moment to indulge in the sights and sounds of the intimacy of the two people she loved most, before she kneeled down by the bedside to indulge herself a little as well.

Rias felt a shiver go down her spine as Yuuji jolted against her, the sudden spike of pleasure he felt transmitting through his lips to hers in a shallow surge of heat.

With slow, deliberate motions, she broke the kiss, letting her tongue trail behind, dragging languidly across his lips before letting it run sensuously across her own.

Carefully, she grasped Yuuji's chin and slowly turned it for him, allowing him to appreciate the new development in full.

Gazing adoringly up at him, from where she kneeled on the floor, was the heavy-lidded, radiant violet of Akeno's eyes.

Only the barest tip of his rod visible, the rest nestled between a set of huge, pillowy breasts.

She waited to ensure his gaze was fully ensnared by her own before she began to move.

Placing her hands against the side of her boobs, Akeno slowly began to push, supple flesh molding around his length as she applied more and more pressure.

Then, she released the pressure just a bit and began to pump her breasts slowly up and down, taking care to never once break eye contact.

Whenever a hint of Yuuji's penis would peak out the top of her breasts, Akeno would let her tongue loll slowly out from her lips, adding a thin trail of saliva as lubricant.

Gauging Yuuji's reactions with a passionate smile, Akeno decided to kick things up a notch.

Yuuji jolted against Rias as Akeno pushed her breasts down more forcefully, and flicked her tongue across his tip.

That was when Yuuji decided that 'numb' was a wholly inaccurate description of his current state.

Akeno's smile grew delighted as a low groan filled the air, and deciding that she very much wanted to hear another, began to gradually increase the speed in which she jacked her man off using her breasts.

Then, Rias decided that she'd had enough fun watching, and once more got involved.

Gyrating against Yuuji's body with small, rhythmic motions, Rias bit her lip as each roll of her hips caused her stiff nipples to drag across his broad back, as her hot lips sucked and nuzzled against his neck.

Once, anyone but JB touching his scars had been a deeply, deeply uncomfortable experience for Yuuji.

With tender, persistent affection, Rias and Akeno had led him past his trauma, by gradually forcing him to accept that they loved each and every scar and imperfection, for the simple reason that they were a part of him.

Now, their touch upon his scars was something both comforting, and strangely pleasant.

Something Rias now took full advantage of, soft fingertips roaming across his chest and abs, feathery touches lovingly tracing old wounds.

All the while Akeno pumped and massaged his dick with her breasts, louder now, wet and slick as they were with sweat, saliva, and oozing precum.

Even Yuuji could only handle being one-sidedly attacked for so long.

His eyes had just begun to glaze over when at last, Akeno spoke.

"Yuuji."

Dark eyes snapped into focus against smoldering violet as the silky flesh smothering his aching member began to move in long, insistent strokes.

"Cum for me."

As if trying to crush his length within her chest, the black-haired beauty squashed her breasts together hard, forced them down as far as they would go, and-

Jabbed the tip of her tongue against the opening of his penis.

Teeth clenched, a muffled grunt echoed out as Yuuji erupted, bathing Akeno's face and breasts with hot cum as she moaned in rapture.

The explosion left the two of them panting, Akeno sinking heavily onto her haunches as she felt her body quiver with a light orgasm of her own.

A smile of pure ecstasy on her lovely, white-stained face, Akeno let her eyes drift shut, propping her breasts up with one arm as she reveled in the sticky heat that marked her.

If Himejima Akeno had something so bland as a favorite kink, it was this, being positively drenched in her man's essence.

It just made her feel so... desirable.

As long lashes fluttered open, she once more met the eyes of Yuuji, feeling another shudder of pleasure as she took in the wildness of his eyes, just barely restrained by that minute, secretive smile she loved.

As he watched her, Akeno began what was perhaps her next favorite thing; clean-up.

Well-mannered as she was, she started with Yuuji first, enjoying coaxing out more restrained moans and grunts as she licked his still erect member clean.

Not wanting to monopolize Yuuji's important part for too long, she sat back and contentedly started on herself, scooping the cum from between and across her breasts and licking it sensuously from her fingers.

"Mm… thanks for the treat."

"I think I'm probably the one who should be showing gratitude right about now."

"Mmm~."

Watching the two of them fondly, Rias made herself heard as they drifted off into silence.

"Ah, as expected of our Yuuji… still ready to go, aren't you?"

"It would be pretty selfish of me to bow out here, wouldn't it?"

That Yuuji was being completely, utterly sincere brought fond, lovely laughter forth from the two women.

Akeno stood up then, and sat down on the bed beside Yuuji.

A playful smirk on her face, she snaked her arm across Yuuji's back and gripped the shoulder opposite from her… that her supple skin whispered across Rias' hard nipples was certainly coincidence.

With a gasp towards her friend, Rias scooted away from Yuuji and graciously allowed her Queen to take her place, the somewhat shorter girl folding her legs beneath her as she wrapped around Yuuji from behind.

Akeno squished her breasts against Yuuji with a great deal more insistence, working to keep him riled up as the slight difference in her posture allowed her more motion against his back.

Rias' refined, graceful demeanor was twinged with an air of immorality from her flushed, naked state as she kneeled down daintily between the legs of her man.

Calmly, she leaned forward and began to slowly, patiently envelop Yuuji's towering mast between the springy flesh of her tits.

The three of them had taken great pains to learn the main difference between the breasts of Rias and Akeno.

Akeno's breasts were both soft and heavy, meaning that when she pressed them against something it gave the sensation of being slowly, lovingly engulfed.

Rias' breasts, though a little bit less massive, had better elasticity and a bewitching bounciness that pushed out in an ever so slightly demanding fashion.

Rias began a steady, focused cadence as she pumped Yuuji, chest bouncing in a way that threatened to, but never quite seemed to free his member from its fleshy confines.

Rias' breasts were already somewhat slick with sweat, having worked herself up a bit already, so a slower pace to avoid undue friction was unnecessary.

She had also quickly discovered that the differences between her boobs and Akeno's could be used to her advantage in cases like this, when she wanted her mouth involved.

A sharp hiss escaped from Yuuji as her lips slowly wrapped around his tip, and a hot tongue began to wander slowly around his length.

She could only hold that position before long before pushing against her own bouncy flesh began to grow uncomfortable, but the cunning redhead decided to take advantage by slowly taking Yuuji into her mouth and setting him free at a quicker pace.

Delicately yet without a hint of warning, from time to time she would let just the barest touch of her teeth grace his dick, a move that had taken a great deal of practice in exchange for great appreciation from the man she loved.

Akeno too, was rather riled up, having never quite come down from the light orgasm she'd experienced from being dyed with Yuuji's colors.

One-sidedly engaging in the somewhat rougher love-making that she and Yuuji often enjoyed, Akeno's nails dragged slowly across Yuuji's skin as she sucked and nibbled at his neck and shoulder.

Grinding hard against her lovers sturdy frame, she jerked his head back to his and mashed her lips against his, forcing her tongue into his mouth.

This backfired in the best possible way, as one of the few things Yuuji could move properly was brought into play, his sadistic tendencies focused on a single point to devastating effect.

Akeno moaned happily as Yuuji's mouth dominated hers, reveling in the fact that breaking the kiss was solely her decision, a decision she utterly lacked the will to make.

Yuuji's body was slowly growing more mobile and more animated, but for now it seemed to be limited to the faintest twitching and bucking of the hips.

Sensing he was reaching his peak once more, the girls ramped up their ministrations, driving him slowly over the edge.

Akeno broke the kiss with a wet gasp, and this time, Yuuji was able to turn and face Rias by his own power.

Rias remained silent, offering a loving, benevolent smile, erotic in its promise to accept every last one of his desires.

With that, she dove down, forcing as much of Yuuji's twitching cock into her mouth as she could manage.

This time, Yuuji was unable to grit his teeth, and exploded into Rias' warm mouth with a low cry.

Unable to keep all of it contained, liquid lust dribbled down Rias' chin and onto her heaving breasts as she let out a long, pleased sigh.

Breathless to the last, the trio of lovers remained where they were, Yuuji held firmly in place by the soft body molded against his back, and the abundant, white-smeared breasts keeping his dick imprisoned.

Rias, moments later, sucked clean his still sensitive length, and had just sat back to begin cleaning herself off when Yuuji stopped her.

"Hang on, I just thought of something good."

Rias let out a cute little squeak of surprise as Yuuji stood to his full height without warning, his dick slapping quietly against her cheek.

With a smirk, he offered her his hand and lifted Rias to her feet, stepping aside to open up some of the space between Akeno and Rias.

Akeno tilted her head in curiosity as she unfolded her legs to stand up off the bed, but Yuuji stopped her with a hand on her leg and a slight shake of his head.

The girls were both a little confused, but Yuuji decided to push them just a little further off balance with his favorite kind of surprise attack; honesty.

"I love you both, you know? Honestly, being helpless like that scares the hell out of me, but with both of you at my side, I didn't really have time to be afraid. So thank you."

This was accompanied by one of his rare, full smiles, taking the time to meet the eyes of each of them in turn.

Akeno let out a pleased hum from her place on the bed, and Rias lifted a tender hand to his cheek, perhaps not realizing how lewd that seemed with her face and chest smeared with his semen.

Yuuji carried on before they could verbally express their feelings.

"Now that that's out of the way, I think it's your turn to be pampered a bit."

"W-well that's sweet of you b-but I think we should just focus on…"

Rias began.

Yuuji, in his shamelessly unfair manner of doing things, allowed his smile to fall, and the barest glimmer of disappointment to tinge his voice.

"You mean... I can't?"

Rias reeled as if struck, horror flickering across her face.

Akeno suppressed a giggle as Rias tried to back-track.

"I didn't mean…! That is…"

"Oh, so it's okay? Thanks Buchou, I knew I could count on you."

Among things that were dreadfully unfair, was Yuuji calling her Buchou in the bedroom.

Normally, Rias disliked being called any sort of title in a more personal setting.

But in situations like this where the affection she was shown was beyond question, however, the title seemed to carry just a hint of lewd impropriety.

On that count, having Yuuji's seed slowly oozing into her cleavage certainly didn't hurt.

Rias shut her mouth with a soft clack, and opened it right up again with a soft shriek as Yuuji pulled her past him.

Right into Akeno's lap.

The girls froze in surprise to find their noses almost touching, along with being close enough to feel the heat radiating from each girls lower lips.

Then Yuuji gently but firmly guided them to lay down, leaving a flushed and naked Rias lying utop a flushed and naked Akeno.

It took a few hushed seconds before they realized that the wetness between their bodies was not only their own but Yuuji's as well as their huge breasts mashed against each other, and then Akeno zeroed in on the white stains around Rias' lips.

Yuuji grinned as Akeno's mouth dove in, pressing her lips against Rias even as she wrapped around Rias in a loving embrace.

Akeno let out a happy moan as her tongue slipped in, the saltiness of Yuuji's cum intermingling with the sweetness of Rias' mouth.

Rias whimpered as a dainty hand delicately dragged its nails down her spine, but returned the attention by reaching down to grip and knead Akeno's breasts from the side.

Yuuji's smirk widened unseen, this was going better than expected and he probably didn't need

To do anything at this point… but he'd been pretty lazy up until this point, and being an inactive lover offended his sensibilities.

Though, he could privately admit that being spoiled like that was a fresh, but certainly not unpleasant experience.

That being said, time to make things fun.

Busy as they were trying to devour each other, neither of them had any idea that he had carefully stepped in between their currently intertwined legs, and was giving Akeno's quivering slit an appraising stare.

Satisfied that she was wet and loose enough that it would be just rough enough for her to enjoy, Yuuji lined up his pulsing member.

Akeno screamed into Rias as Yuuji hilted himself inside of her in one smooth motion.

"Ahh~ Y-Yuuji, w-whaa…?"

She managed to gasp, breaking the kiss to turn lust-addled eyes towards Yuuji.

"Heads up."

Yuuji withdrew a bit and then thrust in again, quickly settling into a steady pace.

Taken in by the bewitching sight of Akeno panting and squirming beneath her, a hint of mischief flit across the gorgeous features of one Rias Gremory.

Slowly, she peeled off the arms gripping her for dear life, and firmly pinned them by the wrists on the bed, above the head of Akeno.

Akeno peered up at her in bleary confusion, made all the more obscene by the flush of her cheeks and the silver trail of drool leaking from the corner of her pale red lips.

Everything snapped into blissful, wondrous clarity when Rias' head ducked down below her own, and a mouth latched onto her neck and sucked hard.

Akeno screamed as Rias mercilessly had her way with her, nipping and suckling her neck, her arms pinned uselessly as Yuuji slowly thrust in and out.

Steadily reduced to a limp, gasping mess, Akeno quivered helplessly beneath the attentions of both those she loved.

Ruthlessly driven to the edge, it was only a matter of time before Akeno came unwound in a blissful, screaming surge of ecstasy.

Only a matter of time, if Yuuji hadn't had other plans in mind.

Patiently, he waited until Rias took a break for air, just to be safe… ish.

Akeno let out a disappointed whimper as Yuuji's rod left her boiling core for the first time, but that disappointment vanished in a jolt of surprise as Rias went rigid, arching her back with a shriek and releasing her hands.

"Y-Yuuji! W-what are y-you- oh! Mmmm…."

Four soft limbs coiled gently, inescapably around her, and a hot breath whispered dark promise into her ear.

"My turn, Rias~"

Then Akeno nibbled on her ear, and Rias convulsed.

Akeno proceeded to return Rias' earlier attentions unopposed, reaching one hand to knead the heiress's tight ass as the other trapped Rias' head in place, ravaging her mouth with a warm tongue, that ceased its conquest only to rampage in slimy trails up and down her slender neck.

The less experienced of the three, Rias took less time to reduced to a boneless heap of heat and arousal, but Yuuji wasn't done.

Into Akeno again, kneading her butt as he did, then Rias, then back.

Chasing them both to the edge, but never quite letting any of them fall over.

Ruthlessly driving them both to the heights of pleasure, and never leaving either enough time to catch their breath.

When Yuuji decided he'd toyed with both of them enough, he moved onto the final stages of his assault.

Confused murmurs leaked out as Yuuji gently separated their lower bodies, suspending the legs of Rias slightly into the air.

Before either of them could recover, Yuuji thrust in once again, not into either of them, but in the fraction of space between their two bodies.

Swollen as they were, this allowed Yuuji's bulging rod just enough leeway to brush that sensitive little nub above both girl's slits at once.

This left both girls writhing and gasping, holding tightly onto one another as Akeno pulled Rias down into one last sloppy, breathless kiss.

As the two lovely women approached the edge, Yuuji felt the needy pulse of his own arousal and with a sudden increase in pace, drove the three of them over together.

His sharp grunt as he sprayed in between the two supple, quivering bodies slipped out unheard before the screaming orgasms of Akeno and Rias, eyes rolling back in their heads as their squirting, bucking bodies convulsed again and again.

Releasing the quivering forms, Yuuji staggered back and sank heavily to the floor.

He was good, and he knew it.

Edging three people simultaneously was still hard work, but…

Worth it.

Now, he wondered if all that passionate spit-swapping they'd done had warmed them up to the idea of going a little farther without him around… which had been one of the main purposes behind having a threesome for a while now.

The other purpose behind having a threesome with Akeno and Rias was…

Having a threesome with Akeno and Rias.

She blinked awake to find a sleepy looking Akeno watching her with a fond smile, as they lay side by side.

"... Why do I feel like Yuuji did all the work?"

"A fertile and over-active imagination?"

Yuuji suggested, from somewhere behind them.

Rias sat up with a groan and a bounce to find a naked Yuuji casually reclined on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

"Ara, our precious junior pretends to be obedient, but he's rather willful, isn't he?"

Akeno made it sound like a compliment, as she joined Rias sitting upright on the bed.

As they spoke to each other, their vision was naturally drawn to each other and-

Hot lips and wandering hands.

Yuuji watched them carefully as the pale, flawless skin of his two loves slowly began to flush in remembrance.

He concealed a smirk as, rather than avert their eyes, a pair of shy smiles blossomed, and a pair of delicate hands crept together and hesitantly intertwined.

Yuuji didn't like to gloat, but… he was feeling a little pleased with himself, right about now.

It was a nice feeling, knowing that his attempt at showing gratitude had been a rousing success.

Quietly, he sat upright, fondly watching the two beauties.

There were a lot of unanswered questions.

The final results of the peace conference and what it meant, going forward.

For Raynare and Kalawarner.

For Xenovia and Irina.

For the world as he knew it.

Which, come to think of it, he didn't know all that well, if a major terrorist organization was new information to him.

How they'd found information on Gasper, on the conference itself.

If Vali would seek revenge for the whole 'shooting him in the face' fiasco, or if he'd have to murder that blood-hungry Dragon someday.

Or, more importantly, if Rias and Akeno would be ready to cross that final line between the two of them, if he left them alone for a night.

All of that could wait, at least until tomorrow.

For now, they were all together, and they were all okay.

That was more than enough.

He still didn't have the faintest idea what 'ordinary happiness' was supposed to look like, but now…

He felt like he had a chance to find out.

That kind of sounds like a cliffhanger ending to a series, doesn't it? Luckily, it's just the end of an arc, short though it was. Don't really have a firm grasp on how many chapters there will be, in the end, but my ballpark is somewhere in the mid to lower-mid double digits.

Busy busy chapter.

Finally got to bust out Mistilteinn, which I've been planning for a long time for Yuuji to shoot Vali in his smug face with. I found out well after I'd sold myself on the idea that Mistilteinn already exists in DxD, as a generic 'famous' wand for Rossweisse. That's lame, and I like my idea for the cute lil' Norse way better, so don't expect that wand to pop up well, ever.

Speaking of things I didn't like, wasn't a fan of the weird man-dragon Grendel they had going on, so now we have the warped demon man-child from the Robert Zemeckis movie instead. Totally didn't lay the ground work for that to be a recurring ugly, and for those of you who missed it, Gabriel has in fact thrown down with one of those bad boys in the past.

In a fist fight, because the ditzy cock-tease of a Seraph having the ability to punch giants to death amuses the hell out of me.

Also had to have fun with reminding you that Suu is the scariest girl in the household, and also got to have Grayfia shit-talking the generic mook with an important name.

If you forget who that was, well, no one can blame you.

I feel like my ability to cook with lemons have improved, hope you enjoyed that bonding session and Azazel being the best wing man.

PS: Forgot Vali revealing his last name was supposed to be important, so I had to amend last chapter so that Yuuji is only on a first name basis.